Energy Concepts &

Energy Conservation
Energy
Lesson 1

Laws of Thermodynamics
1st Law- Energy cannot be created or destroyed
2nd Law- When energy is converted from one form to
another, a less useful form results (energy quality).
Energy cannot be recycled to a higher quality.
Fun fact: Only 20% of the energy in gasoline is
converted to mechanical energy. The rest is lost as heat
and is known as low-quality energy

Concepts
Energy is the ability to do
work
The unit of energy is the
joule (J)
Power is work divided my
time
The unit of power is joules
per second (J/s); or, a watt
(w)

Forms of Energy
Form

Description

Mechanical

Potential energy (an object at rest)

Kinetic energy (an object moving)

Thermal

Heat is the internal energy in substances (the vibration and

movement of the atoms and molecules within substances)

Chemical

Stored in bonds between atoms in a molecule

Electrical

Results from the motion of electrons

Nuclear

Stored in the nuclei of atoms; released by the splitting (fission) or

joining (fusion) of atoms

Electromagnetic

Travels via wave

Power & Units

P=work/time
Kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the most common unit of power
Unit or Prefix

Description

Btu (British Thermal

Unit

Used in the United States (replaced by the joule in most other

countries. A Btu is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree F

Horsepower

Primarily used in the auto industry; roughly equivalent to 746 watts

Kilo-

1,000 or 10^3
1kW=103 watts

Mega- (M)

1,000,000 or 10^6
1MW=10^6 watts

Kilowatt hour (kWh)

Equal to 1,000 watt hours or 3.6 megajoules

Commonly known as a billing unit for energy utilities

Conversions
Where math and science
meet!

If you like this, youll LOVE

physics!

Energy Consumption
Wood was the predominant form of energy until the
Industrial Revolution
Coal surpassed woods usage during the Industrial
Revolution
Petroleum overtook coal in the middle of the 20th
century and is still the primary source of energy around
the world
Natural gas and coal developed rapidly in the second
half of the 20th century

The United States and Oil

The U.S. was self-sufficient in energy until the late 1950s,
when energy consumption began to outpace domestic
production, which lead to oil imports
In 1998, net imports of oil surpassed the domestic oil supply in
the U.S.
The U.S. accounts for 25% of the world consumption of
petroleum
The industrial sector has traditionally used the largest share of
energy, followed by transportation and then residential and
commercial uses

Present Global Energy Use

In the U.S., most energy comes from nonrenewable
energy sources, which are called such because their
supplies are limited.
Nonrenewable energy sources include coal, petroleum,
natural gas, propane, and uranium
Renewable energy sources include biomass,
geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, and wind
energy. They are called renewable because they are
replenished in a relatively short time

U.S. Energy Production vs.

Consumption
Commodity

U.S. Production

U.S. Consumption

Oil

18%

39%

Natural Gas

27%

23%

Coal

33%

23%

Nuclear

10%

7%

Renewable (geothermal,
biomass, solar, wind)

9%

3.6%

Hydroelectric

5%

4%

U.S. Energy Production by Sector

Sector

Transportation

27%

Industrial

38%

Residential and
Commercial

36%

Commodity Consumption by the

U.S.
Commodity (% of Total World Usage)

Oil

40%

Natural Gas

23%

Coal

23%

Future Energy Needs

Over the next few decades,
were likely to see continued
growth and reliance on:
petroleum, natural gas, and coal
The most realistic, economical,
and viable resources of future
energy needs for the immediate
future are: coal, methane
hydrates, oil shale, and tar
sands

Brain Break
1. Stand Up and find a partner
2. Here are the spot values: right shoulder = 1, right ear = 2, nose = 3, left ear
= 4 and left shoulder is 5.
3. Without talking, one person will touch two of their own number spots and the
other person will have to say the numbers out oud and then add them together.
4. Once one person has done a few problems, the other person can give some
problems.
This brain break is great because it forces you to READ your partner's number
spots. You have to think of the spots in THEIR perspective. I have students who
often turn their back so as to "think" of their partners vantage point.

Clean Coal
Term for technology that
mitigates emissions of CO2
and other greenhouse
gases
The term clean coal is
considered to be an
oxymoron and a marketing
gimmick

Methane (Cathrates) Hydrates

Methane locked in ice
Found in 2 geologic
settings: permafrost
regions, and beneath
the ocean floor
There might be enough
methane in the form of
hydrates to supply
energy for hundreds or
thousands of years

Oil Shale
Surface mining of oil shale negatively impacts the
environment
The net-energy yield is moderate since energy is
required for blasting, drilling, crushing, heating the
material, disposing of waste material, and
environmental restoration
There are approximately 3 trillion barrels of recoverable
oil from oil shale in the world
The largest world reserves are found in Estonia,
Australia, Germany, Israel, and Jordan

Tar Sands
The oil in tar sands represents about 2/3rds of the
worlds oil reserves
The net-energy yield of producing oil through tar sands
is moderate since energy is required for blasting,
drilling, crushing, heating the material, disposing of
waste material, and environmental restoration
Most of the tar sand deposits are located in Canada and
Venezuela, with those in Canada being the most
economical to mine

The Energy Crisis

The price of energy is driven by
supply and demand
In some cases, an energy crisis is
brought on by a failure of world
markets to adjust prices in
response to shortages
Oil supply is controlled by an
association of production countries
known as OPEC (Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries)
At current rates of consumption,
world oil reserves are predicted to
last 50 years, and the U.S. reserves
are predicted to last 25 years

Fossil Fuel Resources and Use

Coal is produced by the decomposition of ancient (286
million-year-old) organic matter under high temperature
and pressure
There are 3 types of coal
Lignite, bituminous, an anthracite

Compounds derived from oil are known as petrochemicals

Natural gas (methane) is found associated with oil
deposits, as well as coal beds, shale, gas hydrates, and
tight sands
Methane can be liquefied (LNG), which allows for
worldwide distribution

Extraction-Purification Methods
Coal: surface mining and underground mining
It is possible to turn solid coal into a gas or liquid fuel through
clean-coal technologies

Oil: Elaborate, expensive equipment is required to extract

it
Oil is released from limestone, or faults, by drilling a well and
puncturing the limestone
Once collected, the oil is sent to a refinery, where it is cracked
(separating contents of oil by their boiling points)

Natural Gas: typically flows from wells under its on

pressure and is collected by small pipelines that feed into
large transmission pipelines

Brain Break (With a Partner)

Thumb War
Simply lock fingers together and then tap alternately with your
thumbs to the chant: "One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb
war". Then you can get started with the war. The first person
to pin the others thumb down for three seconds so they can't
move it is declared the winner.

Thumb Peace
Lock your fingers together. You will try to worktogetherto
outline the numbers 0-9 with your thumbs one at a time. Your
thumbs will need to work together while making each number.
So You will have to decide who will be writing the number
forwards and who will write it backwards.

Case Studies
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Keystone XL Pipeline

Hydrofracking
Pros

Cons

Process of bringing a well to completion is

short, after which the well an be in
production for 20 to 40 years

Dangerous chemicals are used in the

process and can enter the water table

Makes it possible to produce oil and natural

gas in places where conventional
technologies were ineffective or costprohibitive

Toxic, radioactive, and caustic liquid waste

by-products pose storage, treatment, and
disposal problems. There are no adequate
safeguard or regulations currently in place
for this process

Allows greater independence from foreign

sources of energy and helps create new
jobs, which in turn stimulated the economy

Hydrofracking results in contaminated

water supplies, air pollution, destroyed
streams, and negative environmental
impacts on local flora and fauna

World Reserves and Global Demand

Coal: the largest source of fuel used to produce energy;
global reserves are estimated to last about 300 years
Oil: 45-70% of the Earths global crude oil reserve has
already been depleted; oil imports in the U.S. have
decreased slightly in the last few years due to
improvements in energy efficiency
Natural Gas: most are located in the Middle East and the
U.S. has about 3% of the worlds reserves; there is enough
in the U.S. to meet about 75 years of domestic production

Synfuels
Any fuel produced from coal, natural as, or biomass
through chemical conversion
This process creates substances that are chemically the
same as crude oil or processed fuels, but were
synthesized artificially
The raw materials used to make synfuels have to be
subjected to intense chemical and physical changes to
be usable as crude oil or processed fuel
An example is synthetic natural gas (SNG), which is
chemically produced from coal liquefaction

Synfuel Pros and Cons

Solid Coal to Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG), Methanol, or Synthetic Gasoline
Pros

Cons

Easily transported through pipelines

Low net energy yield and requires energy to

produce SNG

Produce less air pollution

Plants are expensive to build

Large supply of raw materials available

worldwide to meet current demands for
hundreds of years

Would increase depletion of coal due to

inherent inefficiencies

Can produce gasoline, diesel, or kerosene

directly without reforming or cracking

Product is more expensive than petroleum

products

Environmental
Advantages/Disadvantages of Sources
Coal
Pros

Cons

Abundant, known world reserves will last

approximately 300 years at current rate of
consumption

Most extraction in the United States is one

through either strip mining or underground
mining. Causes disruption to the land through
erosion, runoff, and decrease in biodiversity.

Unidentified world reserves are estimated to last

1,000 years at current rate of consumption

Up to 20% of coal ends up as fly ash, boiler slag,

or sludge. Burning col releases mercury, sulfur,
and radioactive particles into the air

United States reserves are estimated to last

about 300 years at current rate of consumption

Underground mining is dangerous and unhealthy

Relatively high net-energy yield

Expensive to process and transport. Cannot be

used effectively for transportation needs

U.S. government subsidies keep prices low

Pollution causes global warming.

Stable; nonexplosive; not harmful if spilled

Scrubbers and other antipollution devices are

expensive

Environmental
Advantages/Disadvantages of Sources
Oil
Pros

Cons

Inexpensive; however, prices are increasing

World reserves are limited and declining

Easily transported through established pipelines

Produces pollution (SO2, Nox, and CO2)

Production releases contaminated wastewater
and brine

High net-energy yield

Causes land disturbances in the drilling process,

which accelerates erosion

Ample supply for immediate future

Oil spills on land and in the ocean from platforms

and tankers

Large U.S. government subsidies in place

Disruption to wildlife habitats (eg., Arctic Wildlife

Refuge)

Versatile-used to manufacture many products

(paints, medicines, plastics, etc.)

Supplies are politically volatile

Environmental
Advantages/Disadvantages of Sources
Natural Gas
Pros

Cons

Pipelines and distribution networks are in place.

Easily processed and transported as LNG over rail
or ship

H2S and SO2 are released during processing

Relatively inexpensive, but prices are increasing.

Viewed as a transitionary fossil fuel as the world
switches to alternative sources

LNG processing is expensive and dangerous, and

results in lower net-energy

World reserves are estimated to be at 125 years

at current rate of consumption

Leakage of CH4 has a greater impact on global

warming than does CO2

High net-energy yield

Disruption to areas where it is collected

Produces less pollution than any other fossil fuel

Extraction releases contaminated wastewater

and brine

Extraction is not as damaging to the environment

as either coal or oil

Land subsidence